Youth Minds United (YMU), a Memphis and youth-led advocacy organization, wants the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) to better prioritize the safety of young people, and called for policy change and reform.
YMU released a statement saying that the department’s current structure does not prioritize young people or their mental health. “As young people, the biggest hurdle is mental health,” YMU said. “The current DCS system, however, only further harms young people by not ensuring their safety, diminishing the stories of youth, and prioritizing adults over the youth they are supposed to protect.”
To combat these inequities, YMU made a number of recommendations to existing DCS systems. Requests include shifting to unannounced visits or child-first contact in high risk cases, stricter confidentiality guidelines, multi-source investigations, and body cam requirements for child protective service (CPS) workers…